Geithner: ‘We have no way to give Congress more time’

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Thursday that the deadline for raising the debt ceiling could not be extended.

“There is unanimity in [the debt negotiations] that we are a country that meets its obligations and pay our bills and we’ll act and do what’s necessary to make sure we can maintain that commitment,” Geithner told reporters on Capitol Hill. “We looked at all available options and we have no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem and we are running out of time.”

He continued: “The eyes of the country are on us, and the eyes of the world are on us and we need to make sure we stand together and send a definitive signal that we are going to take the steps necessary to avoid default and also take advantage of this opportunity to make some progress in dealing with our long-term fiscal problems.”

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.